Found: increasing solar panels and heat pump options on properties, retrofitting homes with insulation and carbon

Found: New and emerging innovative energy solutions, including hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and

Found: areas for cooperation including new and emerging innovative energy solutions (including hydrogen and carbon

Found: Also, what plans are there for carbon capture and storage in the sector?

Found: We are talking about SMRs, carbon capture and tidal hydrogen.

Found: We are talking about SMRs, carbon capture and tidal hydrogen.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much her Department has spent on research into carbon capture utilisation and storage in each (a) research institution and (b) science and technology cluster in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland in the last three years.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

UK Research and Innovation has a list of research in carbon capture and storage by area. It is available at https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOChooseTTS.aspx?Mode=ResearchArea&ItemDesc=Carbon+Capture+and+Storage

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the British energy security strategy policy paper on 7 April 2022, what progress they are making in their ambition for the UK to achieve up to 10 gigawatts of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with at least half of this coming from electrolytic hydrogen.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Since the British Energy Security Strategy we have made rapid progress, establishing an investable business model to bring forward new hydrogen production facilities and delivering a £240m capital fund to support early deployment. In December 2023, we announced the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen production projects at once anywhere in Europe, supporting 11 electrolytic projects through the first hydrogen allocation round. The second allocation round is currently underway with annual allocation planned from 2025. This, alongside the cluster sequencing process bringing forward carbon capture and storage-enabled hydrogen, will ensure we remain on track to meet our 2030 ambition.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) the HyNet North West project and (b) other carbon capture and storage projects of similar size and scale.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Track-1 of the Cluster Sequencing process, which was launched in 2021, assessed five CCUS clusters against five key evaluation criteria. Hynet and the East Coast Cluster were the best performing in the assessment and were taken forward to project selection and negotiations.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to encourage investment in the energy supply chain industry.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The recently published BloombergNEF (BNEF) Energy Transition Investment Trends Report (2023) reported that total public and private investment in UK low-carbon sectors in 2023 reached £60 billion rising from £35 billion in 2022. The Government understands the importance of growing domestic energy supply chains, therefore at Spring Budget 2024 £120m funding to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator (GIGA) was announced, in addition to the £960m already allocated. This will support investments in manufacturing capabilities for the clean energy sectors where the UK has clear strengths: carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), hydrogen, offshore wind, electricity networks, and nuclear. The Government is also providing up to £160 million to leverage private investment into the port infrastructure required to support floating offshore wind deployment at scale.

Found: Natural England, Pioneering nature projects launched to test carbon capture methods in fight again st

Found: natural carbon sinks (for example, peatlands, forests and oceans) and man-made carbon sinks (using carbon

Found: purposes, for example in construction and textiles and could potentially impact climate change through carbon

Found: and offensive waste; (ii) the recycling of waste; (b) a small waste incineration plant ; or (c) carbon

Found: existing environmental permit , significant permit variations for incinerators seeking to develop carbon

Found: producers to remain competitive as they transition to net zero especially as key technologies like carbon

Found: The remaining fossil fuel generation must be offset by carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies

Found: of areas including: • Delivering Great British Nuclear • Making a world -leading commitment to Carbon

Found: capture usage and storage (CCUS) and ‘green’ hydrogen from the electrolysis of water .

Found: Carbon capture and storage19.

Found: Scottish Renewables as an “ideal location for hydrogen”.7SSE Group has made a £2 billion investment in carbon

Found: Capture; Low Carbon; Energy Transition D-CAT Environmental monitoring; Space data Green Bioactives

Found: example, incentivising increases in recycling and investments in mixed waste sorting, h eat networks and carbon

Found: example, incentivising increases in recycling and investments in mixe d waste sorting, heat networks and carbon

Found: example, incentivising increases in recycling and investments in mixed waste sorting, heat networks and carbon

Found: offshore energy sector between 2021 and 2030 (including on oil and gas, offshore wind, carbon capt ure utilisation

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the connections between Peterhead Power Station and the Scottish Cluster in relation to enabling carbon capture.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment

It is proposed that the carbon capture project at Peterhead Power Station would connect into the CCS infrastructure being developed by the Acorn Project and the wider Scottish Cluster. This would see its emissions transported through shared pipelines and safely stored under the North Sea.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the scientific advice that it has received regarding (a) blue hydrogen technology, (b) green hydrogen technology and (c) carbon capture technology.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment

Many of the technologies required for hydrogen are already mature, however research and innovation still has an important role to play to reduce costs, improve integration models and efficiency to help enable the production and use of hydrogen at scale.

We continue to build the research base in collaboration with academia and industry on a number of fronts for example Scottish Government are partnering with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the MultHyFuel Programme designed to help the development of a common strategy for implementing Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) in multi-fuel contexts, contributing to the harmonization of existing laws and standards based on practical, theoretical and experimental data as well as on the active and continuous engagement of key stakeholders.

Our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS) was launched in June 2022 to support the Scottish Government’s commitment to drive technological progress and innovation in the hydrogen field. To date the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme has offered grants totalling over £7m to 31 projects that will drive innovation in renewable hydrogen production, storage, and distribution.

Additionally, we are funding a Hydrogen Business Development service, delivered through the Energy Technology Partnership, to accelerate knowledge exchange between academia and enterprises to stimulate innovation in the hydrogen sector.

In the area of Carbon Capture Technology we are advised by the Climate Change Committee, the independent, statutory body established to advise on emissions targets, that CCS is a necessity, not an option, and we have regular engagement with Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) at the University of Edinburgh and the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25286 by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024, and in light of the specific commitment given by the then Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform in a letter to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, dated 24 March 2021, that "work is underway on the development of roadmaps" for each of the priority sectors listed in the updated Climate Change Plan, whether it will address that commitment and provide an update on when the sectoral roadmaps will be published for (a) electricity, (b) buildings, (c) transport, (d) industry, (e) waste and the circular economy, (f) land use, land use change and forestry, (g) agriculture and (h) negative emissions technologies.

Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition

In 2021, we published an updated Climate Change Plan which covers the period 2018 – 2032. The updated plan includes over 200 policies across all eight sectors and proposals to drive future emissions reductions.

Since publication of the update to the Climate Change Plan, progress has been delivered at speed to drive forward the various strategies, plans, roadmaps and routemaps that support delivery. I have highlighted some of this progress as follows:

(a) The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan was published for consultation on 10 January 2023, setting out our vision for a future net zero energy system. The consultation closed in May 2023 with over 1500 responses and on 28 September we published an independent consultation analysis.

(b) We have just completed two consultations, one on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill and one on a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard.

(c) We have committed to producing a Route map to achieve a 20% reduction in car km by 2030 against a 2019 baseline. The Draft route map was published in January 2022 followed by post publication public consultation to April 2022. A finalised route map and analysis of the public consultation is due for publication in the coming months.

(d) The Scottish Government is combining current research with revised funding strategies to develop and enhance the route map for industrial decarbonisation. This will include elements of energy efficiency, energy switching and carbon capture and utilisation for residual emissions. The final route map will form part of the next Climate Change Plan.

(e) In January 2024 we published our draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map for consultation, setting out clear actions to deliver sustainable use of our resources and progress a circular economy in Scotland by 2030. This includes measures to decarbonise the resources and waste sector, and embed circular practices in the construction sector. We intend to review the feedback from the consultation and confirm the final Route Map later in 2024.

(f) A new (5th) edition of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), agreed by all four countries, was published last year following a comprehensive review process. The new edition aims to make forests more resilient to a changing climate and the increased risk of pests and diseases so they can continue to deliver multiple benefits.

(g) The Agricultural Reform Route Map was published in February 2023 and updated on 23 June 2023. The Route Map outlines what information and guidance the sector can expect from 2023-2025 and when it will be available. A phased transition will take place from 2025 to implement the Future Support Framework’s proposed conditional payments under 4 tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary.

(h) The Scottish Government commissioned a feasibility study on negative emissions technologies which was published on 30 November 2023. The deployment of NETs is dependent on CCUS, and while there is an understanding of next steps for growing the NETs industry in Scotland, a route map will be finalised once there is certainty from the UK Government on funding for Acorn.